Latest news with #Kuiper
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Amazon quietly plans to offer customers a convenient new service
These past few months, the telecom industry has been suffering from a drastic change in customer behavior. It is no secret that for years, cable companies have gradually seen a mass exodus of TV customers who have switched to streaming services for entertainment. However, these companies are also surprisingly starting to see their internet customers cut the cord on services. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Cable giants such as Comcast and Spectrum lost a higher-than-expected number of internet customers during the first quarter of this year after implementing price increases. Related: Amazon pulls the plug on a free service for customers A recent survey from Cord Cutters News revealed that now only 40.2% of consumers rely on cable TV companies for their internet service, which is a startling decline from 45% in late 2024. Also, about 35% of consumers have now switched to fiber-optic internet, up from 29.1% in 2024, and roughly 11% rely on 5G home internet, an increase from 8.4% just a year ago. Image source: Bloomberg/Getty Images As consumers across the country explore non-traditional internet service options, Amazon (AMZN) is planning to get its feet wet in the broadband industry. The online retail giant plans to launch a satellite internet service by the end of this year in areas with poor coverage worldwide. For the first time, Amazon launched low-Earth-orbit satellites into space in April and June, through an initiative called Project Kuiper. Amazon's website states that the project's mission is to "help close the digital divide" by providing "fast, affordable" internet to "consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations operating in places without reliable connectivity." Related: Amazon gives employees a harsh ultimatum amid layoff fears Amazon is planning to launch three different tiers of its satellite internet service: one that delivers speeds of up to 100 megabits per second, another that contains a standard antenna with downlink speeds of up to 400 megabits per second, and a model that provides speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. BofA analysts predict that Amazon's satellite internet service will allow the company to generate $7.1 billion by 2032 if it gains a 30% share of the consumer market, especially since roughly 2.6 billion consumers don't have access to fast broadband internet, according to a report from BofA Global Research analysts, which was obtained by PYMNTS. "Kuiper is a big investment initiative for Amazon that has endured despite ongoing cost-cutting," said BofA analyst Justin Post in the report. The move from Amazon comes as Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet service, has attracted over 6 million customers worldwide after launching in 2019. High demand in rural and urban areas is fueling its rapid growth. Currently, the service is available in over 125 countries across all seven continents. Some analysts have predicted that Starlink will generate $11.8 billion in revenue by the end of the year. More media and entertainment: Disney makes major theme park announcement after startling lossComcast raises red flag about unexpected customer behaviorDisney CEO offers unexpected response to tariff concerns The increased interest in satellite internet from consumers also comes at a time when many are flocking to fixed wireless internet services. These services also provide internet access to remote or underserved areas, however, through the use of radio signals. Fixed wireless internet is cheaper than traditional internet services, and companies such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all offer it to customers. Comcast even flagged during an earnings call in April that it is facing "intense" competition from fixed wireless internet providers. "I would tell you that the newer competitor in the last few years has obviously been fixed wireless," said Comcast Chief Financial Officer Jason Armstrong during the call. "They're adding 1,000,000 subscribers per quarter, so that's sort of the competitive intensity that we're seeing that's sort of incremental. We are competing aggressively with it." Related: Comcast announces a big change to win back frustrated customers The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Engadget
3 days ago
- Politics
- Engadget
Trump's defunding of NASA would be catastrophic
"This is probably the most uncertain future NASA has faced, maybe since the end of Apollo," Casey Dreier tells me over the phone. Dreier is the chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, a nonprofit that advocates for the exploration and study of space. On July 10, the Senate Appropriations Committee met to discuss the proposed federal Commerce, Justice and Science budget for 2026. While on average, funding for NASA has accounted for about 0.3 percent of total yearly spending by the federal government since the start of the 2010s, President Trump has called for a 24 percent cut year over year to the agency's operating allowance. By any metric, his plan would be devastating. Adjusted for inflation, it would leave NASA with the smallest operating budget it has had since Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel to space in 1961. In the process, it would eviscerate the agency's science budget by nearly half, resulting in the termination of 55 ongoing and or planned missions. It would also leave NASA with its smallest workforce in 70 years. All this, at a time when the agency has been tasked with returning to the Moon and bringing the first humans to Mars. "There's no historical precedent to this level of single year, functionally indiscriminate and dramatic cuts. You lose, in one year, a third of all active science projects. [The Trump administration is] proposing to turn off missions that are performing not just good science, but unique and irreplaceable science. This isn't so they can reinvest the money in some radical new science efforts. No, the money is gone," said Dreier. "It's almost certainly the greatest threat to NASA science activities in the history of the space agency." Dreier isn't exaggerating when he says some missions would be impossible to replace. One of the casualties of Trump's cuts would be the New Horizons probe. In 2015, New Horizons gave us our best look at Pluto ever. Four years later, it performed the farthest flyby in human history. As things stand, it's the only active spacecraft in the Kuiper belt, a region of our solar system that is not well-understood by scientists. Even if NASA were to start working on a replacement today, it would take a generation for that vehicle to reach where New Horizons is right now. It costs NASA about $14.7 million per year to continue operating the probe, a fraction of the $29.9 billion in additional funding Congress allocated to fund ICE enforcement and detainment operations in the president's recently passed tax bill. Another mission that would be impossible to replace is OSIRIS-APEX. If the name sounds familiar, it's because OSRIS-APEX is a continuation of NASA's incredibly successful OSRIS-REx flight. In 2020, the spacecraft visited 101955 Bennu, an ancient asteroid about the size of the Empire State Building, and collected a sample of regolith (rocks and dirt) from its surface using a never-before-tried technique. After OSRIS-REx successfully returned the sample to Earth, NASA decided to extend the spacecraft's mission and fly to another asteroid, 99942 Apophis. In 2029, Apophis will pass about 19,600 miles from Earth. It will be the closest approach of any known asteroid of its size. NASA said the extension would add $200 million to a mission that had already cost it an estimated $1.16 billion. "This project is a pennies on the dollar repurposing of an existing spacecraft. It's the only American spacecraft that will be at Apophis for a once in a generation opportunity to study an asteroid that will just barely miss us," said Dreier. "That seems important to know." At a time when nearly every facet of American life is being upturned, the potential cancellation of dozens of NASA missions might seem a distant concern, but the gutting of the agency's science budget would have a ripple effect on communities across the US. "NASA is an engine for jobs in the country, and for every NASA job, there are many more that are created in the private workforce," said Bethany Ehlmann, Professor of Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology. She also serves on the board of directors for The Planetary Society. Professor Ehlmann's claim is supported by NASA's own data. In 2023, the agency employed 17,823 full-time civil servants nationwide. With NASA's private sector support factored in, that year the agency's missions were responsible for sustaining 304,803 jobs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Put another way, for every full-time equivalent job at a NASA facility, NASA supports at least 16 private sector jobs. "Space science has been broadly supported and impacts roughly three quarters of every congressional district in the country," said Dreier. "It's not just a red or blue state thing." Following last week's Senate meeting, policymakers from both parties said they would push back on President Trump's NASA budget cuts. On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies passed a funding bill that would provide NASA with a total budget of $24.8 billion for 2026, or the same amount it was allocated this year. The week before, the corresponding subcommittee in the Senate passed its own NASA funding bill. The two versions differ on one critical detail. The Senate legislation maintains the agency's science budget at $7.3 billion, while the House version seeks to reduce it by 18 percent to $6 billion. Separately, the House is calling for a 23 percent cut to the National Science Foundation's budget. NSF funds much of the nation's astronomy research. "What I'm hearing from lawmakers is that they understand how important NASA is to industry. They understand how important NASA is to universities in terms of training, and providing grants that train the next generation of the space workforce," said Professor Ehlmann, who was on Capitol Hill last week. The House and Senate will need to come to an agreement for the bill to move forward. Even with many lawmakers in favor of maintaining NASA's budget, a flat budget is still a funding cut when accounting for inflation. Moreover, NASA has already been negatively affected by the Trump administration's efforts to trim the federal workforce. According to reporting Politico published on July 9, 2,694 NASA employees have agreed to leave the agency through either early retirement, a buyout or a deferred resignation. Of those individuals, 2,145 are workers in senior positions and 1,818 are staff serving in missions areas like human spaceflight and science. "Once the workforce is gone, they're gone. You lose a ton of institutional knowledge," said Dreier. The employees who have agreed to leave represent about 15 percent of NASA's 2023 workforce of 17,823. With the July 25 deadline for early retirement, voluntary separation and deferred resignations quickly approaching, that number is likely to grow. NASA's shifting priorities under the Trump administration have also created uncertainty among the agency's contractors. According to former NASA employee and NASA Watch creator Keith Cowing the workforce cuts are already affecting employees. "In the 40 years I've been involved with NASA in one way or another, I've never seen morale so bad," he said. "Is NASA bloated? Yeah, but the way you deal with bloat is to go in with a scalpel and you cut carefully. And yet you have people [like Elon Musk] standing on stage with chainsaws. That is not the way to run government, and it's certainly not the way to create the machinery needed to explore the universe." Whatever happens next, Dreier worries there's the potential for there to be an erosion in public support for NASA. He points to a survey published by Pew Research. In 2023, the organization found that monitoring for asteroids that could hit Earth and tracking changes to the planet's climate were the two activities Americans wanted NASA to prioritize over other mandates. By contrast, sending human astronauts to the Moon and Mars were the least important priorities for the public. The House version of NASA's 2026 budget would boost the agency's exploration budget by 25 percent to $9.7 billion. In Trump's tax bill, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) included language that provided NASA with $4.1 billion for the fourth and fifth flights of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket — the vehicle intended to carry the first NASA astronauts back to the Moon before before private sector alternatives like SpaceX's Starship are ready to fly. With both the Trump administration and House pushing Moon and Mars missions as priorities, Dreier says they're "ironically doubling down on the activities that the private sector is already doing — SpaceX says it's going to send humans to Mars — and abandoning the things that only NASA does. There's no private sector company doing space science." In effect, a NASA budget that sacrifices on scientific research in lieu of Mars missions would be one that invests in things the public says are the least important to it. "I worry that they're moving away from what the public expects their space agency to do, and that as a consequence, it will undermine public investment in NASA," he said. "NASA is usually tied for the number one or two most popular federal agency. People wear NASA t-shirts. No one wears a Department of the Interior t-shirt walking out of the GAP. It's a rare and precious thing to have, and they're risking it. It's not just the future of the agency that's at risk, but the future of the public's relationship with it." When asked for comment on this story, Bethany Stevens, NASA's press secretary, pointed Engadget to a letter from Acting Administrator Janet Petro NASA shared in a technical supplement it published alongside the president's budget request. "We must continue to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. That means making strategic decisions — including scaling back or discontinuing ineffective efforts not aligned with our Moon and Mars exploration priorities" Petro wrote. The final NASA budget for 2026 is still months away from being finalized. After Tuesday's vote, the two funding bills will move to the full Senate and House appropriations committees for a vote and further revisions. Only after that will every member of each chamber get a chance to vote on the matter. Congress has until September 30 to complete the appropriations process before 2025 funding runs out. President Trump could also decide to veto the bill if it doesn't align with his priorities. Have a tip for Igor? You can reach him by email , on Bluesky or send a message to @Kodachrome.72 to chat confidentially on Signal.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Amazon (AMZN) Turns to Rival SpaceX to Launch Its Internet Satellites
Although tech giant Amazon (AMZN) competes with SpaceX in the satellite internet market, it turned to Elon Musk 's aerospace company in order to launch the next batch of its Kuiper satellites. Indeed, on Wednesday morning, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 24 of Amazon's Kuiper satellites into space from Florida. About an hour later, SpaceX confirmed that all the satellites were deployed successfully. This is interesting because SpaceX's Starlink service is the leader in satellite internet, with about 8,000 satellites and 5 million customers. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Nevertheless, Amazon publicly thanked SpaceX for the launch in a LinkedIn post by Panos Panay, who leads Amazon's devices and services, including Kuiper. It is worth noting that Amazon launched Project Kuiper in 2019 with the goal of building a network of over 3,000 satellites. In addition, the company is working under a deadline from U.S. regulators, which requires 1,600 satellites to be in orbit by July 2026. So far, Amazon has launched three groups of satellites to bring its total to 78 satellites in orbit. To meet its goal, Amazon has lined up as many as 83 future launches, including more with SpaceX. Project Kuiper is now one of Amazon's biggest bets, with more than $10 billion already invested. According to Bank of America, Amazon could end up spending as much as $23 billion to fully build the satellite network, not including the cost of the devices people will use to connect. In fact, this year alone, Amazon is expected to spend around $150 million per launch and $1.1 billion on building satellites. Nevertheless, analysts say that the satellite internet market could reach $40 billion by 2030. What Is the Price Target for AMZN Stock? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on Amazon stock based on 44 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average AMZN stock price target of $251.44 per share implies 12.7% upside potential from current levels.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Elon Musk's SpaceX offers this ‘BIG HELP' to rival Amazon's Kuiper internet satellites; company says ‘Pumped to have…'
Image credit: LinkedIn Elon Musk 's rocket company SpaceX has provided launch services for Amazon's Kuiper internet satellites. This marks a major collaboration between two rival companies in the satellite internet market, as SpaceX's Starlink currently holds a dominant position in the low-Earth orbit satellite internet sector. Amazon has confirmed that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 24 Kuiper satellites into space. The launch took place from Florida's Space Coast at 2:30 a.m. ET (12.00 am IST). Nearly an hour after liftoff, SpaceX confirmed that all Kuiper satellites were successfully deployed. The mission was also livestreamed on the social media platform X (earlier Twitter). It's important to note that Starlink operates a constellation of around 8,000 satellites and serves about 5 million customers globally. What Amazon said about the help from rival SpaceX Soon after the launch, Panos Panay, who oversees Amazon's devices and services unit, including Kuiper, thanked SpaceX for giving the satellites a lift into space. In a LinkedIn post, Panay wrote: 'Congrats to the amazing Amazon Project Kuiper team on another successful launch, and a big thanks to SpaceX for the ride to space. Pumped to have another batch of Kuiper satellites heading into orbit!' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas Prices In Dubai Might Be More Affordable Than You Think Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Quote Undo Launched in 2019, Amazon's Project Kuiper aims to deliver global broadband via a network of over 3,000 satellites. To meet the FCC's deadline, Amazon need to have about 1,600 satellites in orbit by July 2026. After three launches, which include one in July 2025, the company has 78 satellites in orbit and has secured up to 83 launches, including rides with SpaceX. Kuiper represents a growing rivalry between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Musk, who leads competing ventures Starlink and SpaceX. Bezos' Blue Origin also seeks to rival SpaceX with its New Glenn rocket. According to a report by CNBC, Amazon has committed over $10 billion to Kuiper, though analysts estimate the project could cost up to $23 billion, excluding user terminal expenses. Each launch reportedly costs Amazon $150 million, with satellite production projected to reach $1.1 billion by year-end. Targeting a market expected to hit $40 billion by 2030, Amazon could earn $7.1 billion in Kuiper revenue by 2032 with a 30% market share. OnePlus Nord CE 5: You don't need to charge this phone daily AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon Turns to SpaceX as $10B Kuiper Satellite Deadline Nears
July 16 - Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is teaming up with rival SpaceX to send its latest batch of Kuiper satellites into orbit, as it intensifies efforts to meet a critical regulatory deadline. A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off Wednesday from Florida's Space Coast, carrying 24 Kuiper satellites. The mission, named KF-01, comes as Amazon works to accelerate deployment under a U.S. Federal Communications Commission requirement to launch half of its planned 3,236-satellite constellation by mid-2026. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with AMZN. The partnership marks a rare collaboration between Jeff Bezos' Amazon and Elon Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink service currently dominates the satellite internet market with about 8,000 low-Earth orbit satellites in operation. Following Wednesday's flight, Amazon will have 78 satellites in orbit. The company previously relied on United Launch Alliance for two Kuiper missions earlier this year. To meet its deployment goals, Amazon has booked up to 83 launches, including at least three with SpaceX. The project has become a major investment focus for Amazon, with up to $10 billion in total spending, including $1.1 billion on satellite production and roughly $150 million per launch. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
